When I think about it now if we are talking about pure popularity (or lack of) then the form horses for the dance-off will be Jamelia (already been in several) and Kellie Bright (been in one dance-off). That would be quite a tough one to call purely on last night's dances. If we were talking purely on the public voting purely on dance ability then on last night's dances Peter Andre would definitely be in the dance-off to be joined by perhaps Jamelia.

I really hope that she is not going to go towards a career in presenting and as a pundit - Not that she wouldn't do this very well because she does it very well already - but I want to see her back in the competition for real!!!!!

Mr T - I didn't want to put in quote your whole post but all very true - however, I think that in past years dancers did not always use the whole floor if they were doing a latin or a more intimate dance - I think that there may have been an Argentine Tango last year (Simon and K ristina?) which used just a part of the floor and I remember Sophie and B rendan doing the same sort of thing with a QS - although I loved that routine with the boys who 'caught' her. It seems this year like the whole thing was one big production n umber with what amounted to group dances for each contestant - another skill to learn I suppose - the only one where I didn't like the 'backing' dances was Jay and A liona where they spoilt it for me, this was one where less should have been more and they could have had half the dancers and used half the space to still make a good impression. Anyway - thank goodness they don't do Wembley anymore!!!!!

Have to say that I also miss K ristina this year - one of my favourite choreographers.

Twirlie wrote:Well I'm with L.en. I'd have kept Jamelia and sent Peter home. I thought she was better by far!

She was. That was one fast tricky and very precise quickstep and she danced it to 9/10 standard. Would you award that for Peter's dance? No sir. If the result was decided on those two dances, then she was robbed tonight. C raig's smug face told the tale.

The judges normally say that their decision is based on the performance they've seen in the dance-off. Did they say that tonight? I'm not sure they did. I thought they very deliberately did not. For the first time I wondered if they chose Peter because of what he might do in the future, rather than what he did tonight. When Tess asked L.en if he agreed with the other judges and he said "no", I saw Darcy with her head in her hands. I wondered if she regretted her decision.

When the fabu-u-lus darling one was asked if Jamelia had done enough to avoid the dance off, he said no, to boos from the audience and surprised looks from The Love God that is Leonard The Lion Goodman and Darcey. The voters can't be blamed for the error, because errot there was in the judging. Yes, Peter had rubbish music and I can sympathise with him on that, but in the dance off, the best performance should win. It was Jamelia's and she could rightly claim to have been done out of a place in next week's show. Unfair and annoying.

Total fix, no way was that based on the two dances. L.en was right. Before the show I predicted she would go, but after I didn't think she deserved it. Ah well let's hope it's the only travesty moment this series!

There have been other travesty es before in the dance off. Jamelia really should have gone very early on yet she survived. Ainsley went far too early and he could have improved. Jeremy for me fledged before Jamelia. Everyone voted it be Jamelia this week so why the big suprise? Peter has had far better dances yes and allowed an off week. Jamelia had more chances than a cat on a hot tin roof!I've stayed consistent for my meh Jamelia. I do worry for Helen as it seems she gets overlooked.

Calmed down a little now and trying to be logical. C raig is obviously remembering Peter's excellent Charlston and decent V.W, so he's marked it on potential and not the dance-off performance. Peter is basically a better dancer than Jamelia, but she raised her game and pulled off a terrific quickstep when it was needed to save her.It was ballroom and the ballroom judge, L en, marked her a win. It didn't, save her and that smacks of double standards. If Peter goes next week it won't really matter that much, but if he knocks out Katie on the same basis I won't be pleased. Either judge it on the night's performance or the competitors might as well stay at home and the dance-off is a farcial waste of time..

Previous dance off from other series have left us feeling a little dissatisfied. Gabby when she lost out I wasn't happy but realised keeping Penny in and Rod in the audience a bigger picture altogether. Austen being dropped in the DO, Jimi being chosen quite a few have been judged from other performances by the judges.Jamelia had her 4th airing in the do so this must have played a part with the judges. We all are aware the judges would like a male winner. If they get rid of Peter too soon we have Jay only. I have no problem with an all female or male final. Maybe they should have kept Ainsley in and watched him bloom. Katie has had the odd awful week would it have been an outcry on here if Jamelia had had a good dance in the do against Katie and Katie had gone? Do we on the forum have our set thoughts and subconsciously use it whilst watching/judging the couples in the DO?. I'll shut up now as I'm obviously in the shadows

It's an interesting point Sax. Obviously we all have our own biases, and mine is firmly anti-Peter, but I genuinely believe Jamelia did the better dance. I feel quite meh towards her, so I don't have an axe to grind in that respect. I wonder what would have happened if Peter had gone up against Katie ? ( we might find out next week! )

My thoughts entirely B4P Both boys have lucked out this year on their partners and have had a good chance to show off what they can do to consolidate being asked back next year.

BTW- Great post Jingle as always

My favourites are now Georgia and Gio - it's been building up since the Ghostbusters dance. However I am voting for K atie and A nton each week. I have backed them from the start as I think that some of their earlier dances were unfairly slated so justice has been done in that I wanted them to get as far as Blackpool, whatever happens next being a bonus - however, I now find I am always wanting to see more each week and for me both K atie and Anita embody the spirit of SCD more than some of the other contestants.

So that is three I would like to see make it all the way - although it is a bit of wishful thinking for K atie as I think that it would depend on the dance choices for her, (dodging the samba for starters) far more than it would for someone like Georgia and even Anita - who to me have proved themselves all rounders which is the decider for me as to who to back to the finish.

I think that Jay will hang on in there and it would be nice to see more men at the finish line but not just for the sake of it which I think is what the producers want this year. It will be difficult to say goodbye to anyone this week after such a good show but like others on here I really think that P eter has reached his ceiling and it is time to go now - last night was very exposing of both him and Janette. Although I really like her as a person and as a dancer, I don't find always find Janette inspiring on the teaching or choreography front and she is in the Mrs C lifton mould (although not so good) of doing a lot of showy dances with little technique. That works for the more freestyle dances but not those where there are clear steps to go in and/or rules to be followed - I barely recognised that dance as a jive last night - altthough it was good as a dance routine, they were not even dancing together a lot of the time and that was not what it should have been. I know she got a long way with J ake last year but they always frustrated me because she did some really dodgy routines with him and I always felt he had more in him.

Those I am not sure of at this point are K ellie and H elen - without meaning to sound harsh I think that K ellie gets away with fudging a lot because she is and was a good performer before doing the show - I wish they would give her a different style of costume as well - I think this contributes to the 'samey' look of everything they do and allthough I really enjoyed the music and the theme for H elen's charleston last night I found the whole thing a bit ungainly - from someone who is usually so elegant.

Well...............all will reveal itself over the next few weeks when we start to see the vote shares of the 'top couples' It's going to be very competitive....goody

I absolutely agree Twirlie - what a travesty tonight - Andre should have been out on his ear - I'm so annoyed - I need to cool down, what a travesty.......

I'm with you Mauve, Twirle, Tango, Sid et al - Jamelia danced so much better than Pete both in the show and in the dance-off. Pete's dance off performance was dire. He certainly hadn't improved.

I really thought the judges did it based on the dance-off performance. But appears not.

And yes, I saw Darcy with her head in her hands looking drawn- I reckon she knew she had made a wrong call. Jamelia was without a doubt the least popular contestant with voters - fifth time in the dance off - but not everyone can vote (me for example - hardly ever get to watch it live and then lines/web voting close so quickly) and therefore I'd say it isn't necessarily representative. I certainly liked Jamelia more than Uriah Smarmite. Her and Tristan had a very genuine, warm, fun connection. Pete and Janette are all smoke and mirrors - there's no genuine warmth.

And I agree with how much Ainsley could have improved. And I think that is the same for most contestants with a few notable exceptions (widdyshins, Nancy Olive Oil and the like). Even Jezza was slightly improving week on week. I have said this before, and I will say it again, I don't think it should be a knockout comptetion. It should be done like the decathalon event - scored on each dance by the judges and a tally kept of all the scores. Each week viewers votes for their favourites can be converted into scores and added to the tally. The top four in the penultimate week go forward to the final. That way everybody gets a chance to really improve and fulfil their potential. Pete looked like he was really good in week one but he petered out (see what I did there...?!) whilst Jamelia is still improving and Katie is really coming on after some low weeks and Anita just gets better and better. It really is a j.ourney and I think everyone should be allowed to complete it so we, as the audience, can really see who is the hare and who is the tortoise.

Still, we were due a travesty and I have to comfort myself that Jamelia was never going to improve enough in time for the finals to really be a contender. But I am now worried that Katie or Helen could go before Pete. And that would be a travesty too far.

But reading back though a previous post from last week, it proves my point about everyone being allowed on the j.ourney...

Last week I was a bit miffed that Jezza (though never a favourite) didn't get to go to Blackpool as he really embraced his strictly experience and worked so hard and made every effort. He was against Jamelia... who I said was a bit lacklustre, even though a more accomplished/natural dancer than Jezza.

This week she transformed - she was so much more joyful and positive and loving the experience (I'm sure Blackpool Tower played a big part, but still....). And she had worked hard and had improved her dancing technique. If she had gone last week I would have missed out on that (and made a wrong call).

Everyone has up and down weeks - I think nobody should be punished for a down week (or two. Or even three). The only people who should get chucked out are people who don't try. Judy Murray was one of the least competent dancers we've had but she TRIED and she did improve. Anne Widdecombe didn't give a poo about the dancing and never tried. Those are the people who can be dismissed. She wasn't even entertaining.

I have ALWAYS hated the fact we have to get rid of a couple each week. This was a flaw in the first series and when it became bigger and better it is the flaw that remained. I know I am pretty much the only person in the land not to like the knock-out concept but I don't care! I want the whole j.ourney for everyone - for my entertainment and edification. I can't see the entertainment in making people sweat with the stress of maybe having to leave. It's rubbish.

While I suppose I can see there is support for taking previous weeks' scores etc. into account for the dance-off, or even the amount of improvement each couple makes over the weeks, surely that's so subjective as to be nothing but infuriating to the whole audience, and the contestants themselves as well. The only safe way for the dance-off to work is for the judges to base their decision on the performance in the dance-off! Nothing else is fair unless you do away with the dance-off altogether and then you get the situations where people like John Sergeant could win the competition, which in my opinion is ridiculous.

Post as many times as you like D&P, that's what the forum's about, surely? Much of what you say is spot on, but Strictly has become first and foremost a popularity show ruled by the Twitterati whoopers and hollerers who sit at home in their leopard-skin onesies, hiding behind a dustbin full of popcorn and four hamburgers whilst they one-handedly (make that one thumb) tap in votes for Katy Price's husband. Oh, I say, does that sound a bit cruel...well, er, tough. I'm sure it's nothing like that really. No, really.

That's an interesting dance off pair. It should be based on the nights dance however I'm sure the judges have in the back of their minds the progression and status of celeb? I think Katie has progressed well and A.non keeps focused and his choreography neat